Seeing is believing. Computers and computing devices have penetrated all aspects of our lives, and this is due in large part to the industry's concerted efforts at making these devices easy to use and understand. One of the key advances in this area has been the graphical user interface (GUI). Before such interfaces, computer users were forced to learn how to interact with computers though a command line interface. Such interfaces were notorious for strict syntax requirements that made them difficult to learn and use, but the GUI changed that. Today, users are accustomed to visualizing data files and computer resources as visual representations, such as indicia, and seeing those representations makes it easier for users to understand what they are doing and believe that they are doing it right.
As computing systems become more and more sophisticated, the GUI will be used to convey more and more information. Users have come to depend on the GUI to tell them all they need to know about their system and its files. However, current GUI offerings fall short of providing sufficient information.
One area in which current GUIs fall short deals with the way files are represented during the file creation process. FIG. 2 shows an example of a Save File dialog 201 used in the MICROSOFT WINDOWS® operating system (MICROSOFT WINDOWS®, XP®, EXCEL®, POWERPOINT® and WORD® used herein are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation, Redmond Wash.). The dialog 201 has a graphic area 202 in which indicia 203 may appear showing the user the files and/or folders that are on the system. This information will tell the user where there file will be saved, and may include data fields 204 to allow the user to enter data concerning the file to be saved.
The user viewing the dialog 201 assumes that, at the completion of the save process, the new file will appear in the area 202 the next time that particular view is entered. However, this is merely an assumption, and the system does not offer the user any confirmation as to how the new file will appear the next time view area 202 is opened. The user is offered no visual confirmation as to where the new file will go, or how it will appear the next time an area 202 is opened.
Furthermore, users have come to depend on the visual organization of the various indicia 203 to help them locate files, but for the new file that is being saved, the user cannot view any such organization until after the file is saved. That may be too late; particularly if the user misunderstood the location information presented in dialog 201 during the save process. Perhaps the user assumed that the new file would be placed at the top level of the area 202, when in actuality the file is saved within one of the folders represented by indicia 203 because one was inadvertently highlighted as the user pressed “Save.” To find the missing file, the user would have to hunt for it, navigating through several folders to find it again.
The lack of feedback during the save process creates problems for the user, and ultimately makes the system more difficult to use than it should be. Accordingly, there is a need for an improved approach to guide the user through the process of file creation; one that can help make sure that there are no misunderstandings between the system and the user with respect to how the new file can be found again.